Natural Selection is an action-strategy game for the PC. It is a "Half-life modification", which means it is written on top of the Half-life game engine. "Mods" are a new sort of underground game development that enables small teams to create games using the technology of existing games. This means less expensive and lower risk game development, which allows experimentation and innovation. This arrangement also implies that "mods" are made as art, not for making money. When complete, Natural Selection will be released for free to all owners of Half-life, which is required to play Natural Selection. Game summary Multiplayer-only Half-life mod where one team plays marines and the other plays aliens. The humans must keep their cool and work together to assault an alien-infested spacecraft or colony. Marines vs. marines and aliens vs. aliens scenarios are also supported. "First-person strategy" with a real resource model and consequences for actions....

With 2002 now behind us, it is time to look at the year that was 'modification style' and scope out what captured gamers imaginations, hearts and of course many hours behind the PC playing that beloved mod!

Ok now before you read this article and begin debating about it's accuracy among other things, unfortunatly at the time of writing the mod nomination scheme was not yet coded in. Therefore while we tried to get a fair representation of the communitys thought on the better modifications it was limited to a rather primative forum thread system. Therefore we admit many brilliant modifications will have been neglected, actually we *know* some have been however rest assured come the end of 2003, this feature will have grown, will span all games and no modification will be without a chance to get a mention on these elusive pages!

Mods (short for "modification") is simply a new game based on the game engine. The changes could be relatively minor, such as a mod that allows server-operators more control over death match game rules, or they could be so extreme as to make a completely new game (although these are usually referred to as Total Conversions (TC) or Partial Conversions (PC)).

azz0r wrote: Mods prolong a games life by making me play the game with a new look or addition that generally makes it shine.

These days mods are to games what butter is to bread. They are fun, original and extend the lifespan of a game to be virtually never-ending. With making mods you the creator have the entire world in front of you to decide what to make. Some mods have been stopped for not getting permission and the mods below are proof of doing it the correct way.

jacksonj04 wrote: Mods give me more choice over what I play by making good ideas real for free.

Half life was released back in 1998. It was an instant success and won the title of best of game of the year by most of the reputable gaming magazines. Half Life is a first person shooter, with the goal of killing the enemies. Half Life also came with the ability to play against friends on the internet or on a LAN. This game, despite been *old* in computer terms is still fun to play, which can be 100% accredited to the modifications created for it.

SeienAbunae wrote: I get occasionally exceptional quality games for no price, often completely new games with completely innovative ideas, made by people just like me.

The world of Mods helps to illustrate the changing nature of the video game world. The same way that video game players have an interaction with the video games, the gamers now have an interaction with the game developers. Mods to video games help to underline the components of a game that gamers like the most. Mods underscore the fundamentals of the original game by bringing the best features of the original game to the lime light.

INtense! wrote: Mods bring out the best previously unforseen potential in games.

Mods go as far as 20 years ago. One such mod will be at its 20th year in 2003. Castle Smurfenstein, was a parody of Castle Wolfenstein, with the tools they used to create the mod makes mods today seem like a full time job.

DOOM became the first game to be non stop modified then Quake 1, and Quake 2 later on. Half Life was next and a mod could even be said to have surpassed the game. It is of course Counter Strike loved by many. Either way the team got paid and we didn't!

The idea of this article is to show the world and you noobs who live under a rock that sexy mods exist and no they are counter strike. The first group of mods I will explain are mods released this year in 2002. If I didn't list a mod that was out in 2002 I am sorry. We set up a forum thread and so many people posted mods. Many of them were not mods that released in 2002. Some mods are not out yet. The rest of this is mods everyone voted on to say they loved them or thought highly of them.

Best New Comer For 2002

Natural Selection is an action-strategy game for the PC. It is a "Half-life modification", which means it is written on top of the Half-life game engine.

"Mods" are a new sort of underground game development that enables small teams to create games using the technology of existing games. This means less expensive and lower risk game development, which allows experimentation and innovation. This arrangement also implies that "mods" are made as art, not for making money.

Multiplayer-only Half-life mod where one team plays marines and the other plays aliens. The humans must keep their cool and work together to assault an alien-infested spacecraft or colony. Marines vs. marines and aliens vs. aliens scenarios will also be supported in the near future.

"First-person strategy" with a real resource model and consequences for actions. Both sides are genuinely different and together they accommodate different play styles:

Marines :: Fighting skill is less important, strategy and communication take its place. Playing as a marine will be a tense experience with methodical planning and strategy, interrupted with action.

Aliens :: Playing as an alien will be an intense action experience, rewarding reflexes and alien heroics. Communication and coordination don't require typing.

Accessible, fast, mouse-driven interface: no keys beyond those used in Half-life needed.

Simple to learn and play, it is hard-core action/strategy for a mainstream audience.

Other, Awesome New Comers For 2002

The Specialists combine fast action movie action and weapon realism/damage with a lot of stunts (dives, rolls, air wheels..) , special effects never seen in a HL mod (particle effects, muzzle flashes and so on) , kung fu, akimbo guns and a lot more. Another great feature is slow-motion (never seen in a multiplayer contest), you can find it in death match like a power up (yes, in DM there are some power ups) or you can set it with a server variable. But the best feature of TS is that there isn't a best way to combat, there is only Your way to combat, as you prefer."

Battle Grounds is a revolutionary war modification for Half-Life. We are attempting to capture the atmosphere of combat in the period. There are no automatic guns and in comparison to other games, the reload times are an eternity. We are aiming for a completely different style of play to what most fps capture.

Weapons are linked to your speed, so you need to chose your class carefully depending on how you are going to be playing. Maps are varied between wide open fields and valleys to smaller enclosed cities and lakes. If you are looking for a mod which goes down a different road in the fps genre, have a play at Battle Grounds and see what you think.

Tour of Duty is a realistic team play mod for Valve's award winning game Half-Life. The game is set at the height of the Vietnam war, between 1967 and 1973 allowing you to relive the conflict fighting either for the United States Marine Corps (USMC) or the Viet Cong (VC)/North Vietnamese Army (NVA). Currently, the mod features several different game play styles, such as:

Bombing missions (round and non-round based)

Capture the flag/map/radio/code machine

Capture and hold control points

King of the Hill

Escape and Evasion

The classes each team can choose from includes an assortment of weapons from the Vietnam conflict. Factors such as how heavy the soldier's equipment would be, how far away you are from teammates, how tired you are, and how rapidly you fire your weapon all contribute to a continuously adjusted weapon accuracy system.

NS:CO is a tactically sophisticated feature rich multi-player game that emphasized teamwork and realistic SEAL SPECWAR missions and tactics.

Other, Mods So Real You'll Wet Yourself

Counter-Strike is a modification (MOD) to the excellent game, Half-Life. It modifies the multiplayer aspects of Half-Life to bring to it a more team-oriented game play. Counter-Strike provides the player with an experience that a trained counter-terrorist unit or terrorist unit experiences.

Front Line Force divides the players into two teams: Attackers and Defenders. The object for the Attackers is to capture various Capture Points spread throughout the map. The object for the Defenders is to defend those points. Once a point is captured by the Attackers it cannot be taken back. The round is over when either the Attackers capture all the Capture Points or when the round time runs out, in which case the Defenders win. After the a team wins, the roles of are switched. If you were previously attacking, you are now defending, and vice versa.

True Combat (Q3:TC or TC for short) is a tactical-realism modification based on the ID Software title "Quake III Arena". You will not need to have Team Arena installed to play True Combat, just the original ID Software release "Quake III Arena".

Day of Defeat is a World War II multiplayer total conversion of "Half-life." DoD attempts to recreate WWII battles in both fictional and non-fictional environments. DoD puts you in the shoes (rather, combat boots!) of either an Allied or Axis soldier circa 1944, Western Europe.

Global Warfare is a Team Based Multi-Player Half-Life Modification. That means if you have Sierra's Half-Life game then you can download and install Global Warfare and play it!

Best Sci Fi Mod For 2002

Natural Selection is an action-strategy game for the PC. It is a "Half-life modification", which means it is written on top of the Half-life game engine.

Other Sci Fi Mods That'll Leave You Begging For More

Vampire Slayer is a multiplayer, team-play modification for Half-Life with vampires.

GODZ is a mod of the Unreal Tournament video game created by Epic Games. GODZ completely converts Unreal Tournament into an original action game. Featuring incredible battles amongst genetically engineered, supernatural warriors built by rival planets to compete in a Universal-Wide Tournament. The prize is an untold fortune that will increase even the most impoverished planet into a thriving, economic power. Each fighter is a little nugget of nuclear power capable of mass destruction.

Shifter is the most enjoyable mod to play. Tribes 2 players around the world engage in Shifter, battling it out using more than just headshot skills and point click boom. Strategy, Combat - its all here, and loads of fun!

Best Comical Mod For 2002

Bid for power is a quake 3 total conversion. We have taken quake 3 and used it to create a new game. In order to play BFP, you will need the full retail version of Quake 3 Arena by ID Software, but once you have that installed, our game is a free downloadable add-on. Bid For Power will run on any windows, linux, or mac computer that is capable of running q3 and has both the full q3 version and the 1.31 or more recent point release installed.

Bid For Power attempts to capture the feel of anime style ki fighting. In the first release of BFP, 6 of the strongest fighters in the universe enter the arena in a fight for domination.

Nothing Quite Beats These Other Comical Mods

BoxWars, something unusual has been going on... There are strange noises in the warehouses at night, and a second ago, you could've sworn you just saw something move For some reason, ordinary boxes are coming alive! Scientists have been watching this phenomenon for quite some time now, but no one really knows what causes it. Sometimes scientists investigating these large warehouses at night vanish, and are never seen again. Some specialists think that it could be radiation that's somehow mutating the boxes. Others think it could've been a low-flying meteor. One delusional man thought they came from another dimension. No one really knows for sure. When you play this mod you will find out!

BuzzyBots where the game takes place 25 years ago (but on the other side of the galaxy .. hehe). What used to be a planet of peaceful BuzzyBots of mixed colors, has changed to a planet of war. No one can remember why, but outsiders have speculated that is has something to do with the strange "Skrunks" that came to the planets, only a few months before the first battles started. The "Skrunks" seems amused by the warfare and don't hesitate smashing a few robots them self, if there are anyone nearby.

Western Quake 3 is intended to be a realistic simulation of the "Old West's" great atmosphere. It is being developed - as you can see in the name - on id Software's Quake³ Arena Engine.

Best Action Mod In 2002

Max Payne: Kung Fu Edition is a mod that started sometime around August 2001. The whole mod is based upon the single premise of giving Max kung fu abilities. How could such a mod based on such an ideal game not be awarded this honour?

Other, Heart Pumping Action Mods

The Opera comes from movies and the teams love for the John Woo style films. "The Opera isn't about blowing a body into a thousand pieces; it isn't about being impersonal as you send a bullet into someone's head from 800 meters away."

Front Line Force divides the players into two teams: Attackers and Defenders. The object for the Attackers is to capture various Capture Points spread throughout the map. The object for the Defenders is to defend those points. Once a point is captured by the Attackers it cannot be taken back. The round is over when either the Attackers capture all the Capture Points or when the round time runs out, in which case the Defenders win. After the a team wins, the roles of are switched. If you were previously attacking, you are now defending, and vice versa.

Day of Defeat is a World War II multiplayer total conversion of "Half-life." DoD attempts to recreate WWII battles in both fictional and non-fictional environments. DoD puts you in the shoes (rather, combat boots!) of either an Allied or Axis soldier circa 1944, Western Europe.

DragonMod Z is a modification for the game Half-Life. Half-Lifewas created by Valve Softwareand published by Sierra On-Line,Inc.DragonmodZ is based on the Japanese manga / anime DragonballZ.Dragonball Z is an anime which is the sequel to DragonBall. Both Dragon Ball and Dragonball Z were created by Bird Studio/Shueisha, Toei Animation based on the manga created by Akira Toriyama

Earths Special Forces is a modification for the game Half-Life that shows off the DragonBall and Z characters.

Most Improved Mod In 2002

Science And Industry is a team play mod for Half-Life, in which players assume the role of Security Officer in one of two rival corporations striving for domination in the cutthroat world of chemical and weapons research and development.

Other Mods Which Have Seen Significant Enhancements

Sven Coop is a Co-operative modification for Valve’s genre-defining game Half-Life. In this modification, you are not fighting against other players -- they are your allies, and you need to work with them to overcome large numbers of AI-controlled enemies.

Co-operative game play has been absent from the majority of recently released games, and is sorely missed by fans of the game mode. Sven Co-op fills this gap by providing not only the ability to play the original Half-Life Single-Player game co-operatively, but also a broad range of diverse co-operative scenarios. Though most are set in the Half-Life universe, Sven Co-op’s mapping features allow map developers to create their own, unique experiences for players, ranging from realistic military missions to medieval RPG themed adventures.

Desert Crisis is a mod set in the near future, so there is a mix of modern weaponry (such as Desert Eagles and MP5's) and futuristic weapons (such as laser sniper rifles and plasma cannons). Desert Crisis features a modular objective system which gives the mappers _TOTAL_ freedom. They can link objectives as well, so you could, for example, shoot the VIP and take his briefcase. It is totally up to the mapper, they can even specify if they want rounds or not. The objective system also works with Half-Life's trigger system, so events can be triggered by the objectives. For example, you could capture the flag, and buildings could explode, it is totally up to the mapper.

Action Half Life is designed to simulate the experience of being in an Action movie. Movies like Hard Boiled, Face Off, and Die Hard are the inspiration for AHL. AHL aims for something called 'Movie Realism.'

This means that you can take a few bullets and keep fighting. You can fall from a two story roof and only hurt your leg. You can bandage a wound in seconds. This doesn't mean you're invincible however, as hits to the head from large caliber weapons are instantly fatal, but a headshot even from a small pistol will put you within an inch of your life. Of course, stunts play a large part in action movies, and likewise, play a large part in AHL. Dives, rolls, and long jumps can be executed for style and tactical advantage. There's nothing quite like diving through a window and capping the bad guy in the head before you hit the ground. This is a game of style and fun, not obsessive realism.

Global Warfare is a Team Based Multi-Player Half-Life Modification. That means if you have Sierra's Half-Life game then you can download and install Global Warfare and play it!

Firearms is a modification of Valve Software's computer game, Half-Life. It's a realistic modification of the game, that focuses on team play with Half-Life game play altered to the extreme. New rules, new content, and 30 new weapons.

Best Mods Overall For 2002

Day of Defeat is a World War II multiplayer total conversion of "Half-life." DoD attempts to recreate WWII battles in both fictional and non-fictional environments. DoD puts you in the shoes (rather, combat boots!) of either an Allied or Axis soldier circa 1944, Western Europe.

Front Line Force divides the players into two teams: Attackers and Defenders. The object for the Attackers is to capture various Capture Points spread throughout the map. The object for the Defenders is to defend those points. Once a point is captured by the Attackers it cannot be taken back. The round is over when either the Attackers capture all the Capture Points or when the round time runs out, in which case the Defenders win. After the a team wins, the roles of are switched. If you were previously attacking, you are now defending, and vice versa.

Vampire Slayer is a multiplayer, team-play modification for Half-Life with vampires.

Natural Selection is an action-strategy game for the PC. It is a "Half-life modification", which means it is written on top of the Half-life game engine.

Counter-Strike is a modification (MOD) to the excellent game, Half-Life.

It modifies the multiplayer aspects of Half-Life to bring to it a more team-oriented game play. Counter-Strike provides the player with an experience that a trained counter-terrorist unit or terrorist unit experiences.

Sven Coop is a Co-operative modification for Valve’s genre-defining game Half-Life. In this modification, you are not fighting against other players -- they are your allies, and you need to work with them to overcome large numbers of AI-controlled enemies.

Co-operative game play has been absent from the majority of recently released games, and is sorely missed by fans of the game mode. Sven Co-op fills this gap by providing not only the ability to play the original Half-Life Single-Player game co-operatively, but also a broad range of diverse co-operative scenarios. Though most are set in the Half-Life universe, Sven Co-op’s mapping features allow map developers to create their own, unique experiences for players, ranging from realistic military missions to medieval RPG themed adventures.

Action Half Life is designed to simulate the experience of being in an Action movie. Movies like Hard Boiled, Face Off, and Die Hard are the inspiration for AHL. AHL aims for something called 'Movie Realism.'

This means that you can take a few bullets and keep fighting. You can fall from a two story roof and only hurt your leg. You can bandage a wound in seconds. This doesn't mean you're invincible however, as hits to the head from large caliber weapons are instantly fatal, but a headshot even from a small pistol will put you within an inch of your life. Of course, stunts play a large part in action movies, and likewise, play a large part in AHL. Dives, rolls, and long jumps can be executed for style and tactical advantage. There's nothing quite like diving through a window and capping the bad guy in the head before you hit the ground. This is a game of style and fun, not obsessive realism.

Gang Wars is a Half-Life modification based on the Counter-strike file format.

It is only a code modification (DLL), which borrows models from the vast Counter-strike community to create a different play mode than Counter-strike. One reason Gangwars uses CS files is because there is no team, and the two coders have no artistic talent, they literally can't draw a black dot on a white page.

Digital Paintball strives for realism. The on screen display is as sparse as possible, and is comparable to the amount of information gathered by players during an actual game. Careful attention has been paid to detail of the marker models, and they look amazing. Modes of play include Capture the flag, Centerflag, Reverse capture the flag, Attack and Defend, and Elimination. Markers in the beta so far include Angels, Autocockers, Automags, Excalibers, m98s, Pgps, PT Extremes, Phantoms, sl68s, spyders, and shockers. ( Just the first beta, more to come ).

5 Mods You Should Not Leave Home Without

1. Natural Selection

Natural Selection is an action-strategy game for the PC. It is a "Half-life modification", which means it is written on top of the Half-life game engine.

2. Sven Coop

Sven Coop
is a Co-operative modification for Valve’s genre-defining game Half-Life. In this modification, you are not fighting against other players -- they are your allies, and you need to work with them to overcome large numbers of AI-controlled enemies. Co-operative game play has been absent from the majority of recently released games, and is sorely missed by fans of the game mode. Sven Co-op fills this gap by providing not only the ability to play the original Half-Life Single-Player game co-operatively, but also a broad range of diverse co-operative scenarios. Though most are set in the Half-Life universe, Sven Co-op’s mapping features allow map developers to create their own, unique experiences for players, ranging from realistic military missions to medieval RPG themed adventures.

3. DragonMod Z

DragonMod Z is a modification for the game Half-Life. Half-Lifewas created by Valve Softwareand published by Sierra On-Line,Inc. DragonmodZ is based on the Japanese manga / anime DragonballZ. Dragonball Z is an anime which is the sequel to DragonBall. Both Dragon Ball and Dragonball Z were created by Bird Studio/Shueisha, Toei Animation based on the manga created by Akira Toriyama

4. Gang Wars

Gang Wars is a Half-Life modification based on the Counter-strike file format.

It is only a code modification (DLL), which borrows models from the vast Counter-strike community to create a different play mode than Counter-strike. One reason Gangwars uses CS files is because there is no team, and the two coders have no artistic talent, they literally can't draw a black dot on a white page.

5. BuzzyBots

BuzzyBots, where the game takes place 25 years ago (but on the other side of the galaxy .. hehe). What used to be a planet of peaceful BuzzyBots of mixed colors, has changed to a planet of war. No one can remember why, but outsiders have speculated that is has something to do with the strange "Skrunks" that came to the planets, only a few months before the first battles started. The "Skrunks" seems amused by the warfare and don't hesitate smashing a few robots them self, if there are anyone nearby.

Best Single Player Mods for 2002

Todesangst | Todesangst 2:Der Echte Feind is a new single player episode for Half-life. You must have Half-life version 1.1.0.4 or higher in order to install and play Todesangst. It will not work on older versions due to changes Valve made to key entities like monster generic and trigger camera. If you have an older version of Half-Life, Todesangst will not work!

Poke 646, it's 13 months after the incidents at Black Mesa. The Black Mesa Research Facility has been shut down. The nation never got to know anything about the experiments there. The less you know, the less you worry. The government founded a new organization to handle "alien related topics". They hired the best scientists, technicians and military forces worldwide, its name is Poke646.

Some days ago the Poke646 scientists spotted alarming signals from the Xen homeworld. It looks as if the aliens plan to invade Nation City by opening a massive amount of portals. But the Poke646 Tech Labs are already prepared: some months ago the technicians developed a huge generator which is able to close hundreds of portals at once with a bundled energy beam. Four generators are about to be installed at the edges of Nation City. With all four activated they will form a giant beam and hopefully destroy the alien portal technology forever.

You play the role of Damien Reeves, the technical assistant of Dr. Fuller, and you don't know all these details. All you're currently worrying about is where the hell you lost your car keys when suddenly something hits your head and you slowly fade into unconsciousness. When you wake up hours later, you quickly realize that some very strange things are going on... A great Single Player Only mod with alot of content. One of the best single player mods ever!

Conclusion... 2003

With the 2003 mods to be released still the ones that stick out in my mind so far are listed below. I think you will be just like me and visit the site daily for updates to when they will release the mod for my PC to enjoy!

HL Rally for those tired of the lack of diversity between Half-Life MODs? Instead of earning the most frags to become the top player, players steer their vehicles through an assortment of courses set in real-life environments, trying to clip off valuable seconds in order to earn top placements. As players progress through races, credits are saved up to be used on vehicle upgrades to gain the edge over other racers. Strategy comes into play here, where decisions on which upgrades will be most vital in leading the pack. Not a fan of the art of rally racing? Future plans after an initial release include a “GT Mode,” where restrictions on vehicle type and course locals will be reduced, and allowing players to take on their friends in their favorite vehicles on the track or in the street. To go side-by-side with the release of GT, Master Servers will be online, allowing players to create profiles to which vehicles and credits can be saved for future use. Don’t see the vehicle of your dreams? Individuals will be allowed to submit their own vehicle models, to be included and distributed online through the Master Servers.

Monkeystrike because it is the only MOD which got monkeys fragging each other with fruit-shooting weapons in all kind of environments and all this in a unique, cartoon look. 3 different game modes, an action-packed game play, updates and many more features will assure that you will not get bored. I tell you, you will laugh your primate-butt off.

Just wanted to say great work to all the modifications choosen. It was based on the feedback posted in that forum thread. Next year things shall be a little stricter and more automated, so I cannot wait to see another years work from these and all the other modification teams out there!

Big thanks from the Battle Grounds team. It is good enough to actually make a mod which gets released but when it gets listed along side mods like Natural Selection, The Specialists and Tour of Duty, it makes it more than worth the time making it .

Thanks a lot for supporting our mod and making it known to a larger community. We are still striving to become the most realistic and still most fun to play mod for the quake 3 engine. And moddb has supported us in just the right way, attracting new players and bringing the mod closer to the community. So, /us hug all of Moddb in the manliest way possible... keep up the great work.

Also, just as a quick notice and to do some pimping, True Combat is approaching its next release with huge steps at the moment.... be prepared for a whole new level of playing realism mods ! :)

I will need to do this in Nov and finish it in December. So its a full time frame for everyone to list the mods they see fit. Again it will need to be mods released in 2003 first than the other mods to be listed in each section